Chennai: 63 lakh senior citizens have avoided outbound travel in the financial year 2021-22 due to cancellation of train fare concession for senior citizens. Therefore, Senior Citizens Welfare Associations have insisted that train fare concession should be given again to senior citizens.
50 per cent fare concession for women above 58 years of age and 40 per cent fare concession for men above 60 years of age in train travel. This was a boon to senior citizens. In this case, the fare concession for senior citizens has been canceled from 2020 in order to control the cost in railways.
Various parties have been demanding that this fee concession be given again as it helps senior citizens to visit spiritual places and for medical treatment. But he said, “This fare concession is causing revenue loss of Rs 1,667 crore per year to the Railways. Therefore, the fare concession will not be re-issued,” the railway ministry categorically stated.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that 63 lakh senior citizens have avoided traveling abroad in the financial year 2021-22 due to cancellation of this fare concession. They are gradually avoiding travel from 2020 as the fare concession on trains has been cancelled.
In the last financial year 2019-20 across the country, 6.18 crore senior citizens booked and traveled in trains. This has decreased to 5 crore 55 lakh in the financial year 2021-22. Through this, 63 lakh citizens have avoided traveling abroad. In the financial year 2020-21, only 1.90 lakh people traveled at a very low level due to Corona.
Now that normalcy has returned, it has been revealed that senior citizens are avoiding travel due to the absence of fare concessions. Hence, there has been a demand to restore the fare concession to senior citizens. Dakshina Railway Pensioners Union President Ilangovan said:
Several European countries, including Spain, allow senior citizens to travel on trains for free. However, the tariff offer in India has been cancelled.
This is disappointing. Shouldn’t Rs 1,667 crore be given to 6 crore senior citizens? 63 lakh people have avoided traveling abroad. The remaining 50 percent of the ticket revenue would have gone to the Railways after the fare concession. Senior citizens are going abroad for medical treatment and spiritual tourism. Therefore, this fee concession should be reissued without considering it as a huge burden. Dakshina Railway Pensioners Union President Ilangovan said this.